I’ve been more emotional this birthday than any of the three before. I’m not sure why? Maybe because you’re not a baby anymore… Although, you will always be my baby! Even when you yell at me, “I’m not a baby, mommy! I am a big kid!“ You will always be my baby… Lennox, you are the most amazing blessing that has ever happened to your daddy and me. Thank you for being kind, gentle, and so loving. Thank you for all the kisses you give me all over my face. One for my nose, my cheeks, the top of my head, my lips, my chin, my forehead, oh, and my earrings! You are so silly and so goofy. You are my sunshine. My son-shine. Happy Birthday, sweet Lennox! 4 looks good on you!

Your cowboy birthday party was a great choice and you definitely made a cute “outlaw!” I absolutely loved celebrating you on your actual birthday! From the mini photo booth to the piñata and pin the tail on the donkey (the old school version like daddy and I played at kids parties) to blowing out your candles, I am happy to say your party went off without a hitch! Thank goodness!!!

You are my little love and you bring joy wherever your go…We you, baby boy! Happy, Happy Birthday!

Xoxo

Mommy

The post Lennox is 4! appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

We stayed at the Westin, Maui in one of the newly renovated suites. This hotel has gone through so many renovations already and they’ve only just begun. Our suite was in the new tower and my goodness, our room was stunning! I can’t think of another resort we’ve stayed in that has hardwood flooring…?! It’s a unique touch that really transforms a hotel in my opinion. Our suite was perfect for our family. My husband and I had our own bedroom and there was a long hallway that separated us from the living room and dining area. We got a rollaway for Lennox which fit perfectly in the living room and he loved having his own space! Thank goodness! I’ve learned in the past years that bringing familiar pieces of home help acclimate Lennox when we are on vacation. I brought his sound machine and night light that shines the constellations on the ceiling. He slept every single night and woke up refreshed and happy! A big bonus when you have a toddler LOL!

I love that when we are on holiday our biggest decision is beach or pool!? Isn’t it funny how priorities shift when we allow ourselves to rest and relax. We spent the majority of our days lounging by the pool, helping Lennox get more familiar with swimming and a zillion rides down the waterslide. It was so much fun! We didn’t plan too many excursions because we wanted to play things by ear, but we did have a magical evening at a luau – which Lennox is still talking about! And an amazing sunset cruise. It blows my mind how sunsets are truly treasured on the island. People would gather in front of the resort and sit on the grassy knoll and stare in silence and awe. It was pretty magical.

Our entire trip was magical! I look forward to next summer when the Westin, Maui has fully completed their renovations and we get to visit once again and see this resort in completion. Apparently they are adding many more waterslides, expanding the pools and completely re-doing their main restaurant. We so look forward to an annual trip to Maui and are grateful to have found a resort that we want to make our second home! To everyone that helped make our vacation and my birthday magical, I want to say a huge thank you! We can’t wait to see you in 2020 and celebrate the reveal of the new and improved Westin, Maui!

Until then…

If I had only know about these 30 baby MUST HAVES when Lennox was a baby traveling would have been so much easier! And- they’re all under $25.00!

The post My birthday in Maui🐠🏄🏼‍♀️🏝 appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

Along with Lennox’s new furniture we wanted to create a new theme for his bedroom, so we started looking at the children’s wall murals from minted. Y’all know I’m a huge minted fan! Lennox and I narrowed it down to two choices- a cactus theme which y’all know is my favorite LOL, and a beautiful space theme. I did not persuade Lennox at all, I swear! He chose the cactus them all by himself! He’s obsessed with his new room. I’M obsessed with his new room! Any sadness that I had of leaving his nautical themed nursery behind has been softened by the beautiful artwork of this mural. Just another reason I love minted! Cynthia helped me pick the color palette, decide on the furniture, placement of the wall murals and of course all the amazing finishing touches. She knew I wanted live plants in his bedroom and thought of these beautiful terrariums hanging from his ceiling. Thank you, Cynthia and minted! Lennox’s bedroom is my new favorite room in the house!

Here are a few other fun children’s murals that we loved!

The post Lennox’s big boy bedroom 🌵🌵🌵 appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

It took me about a month before I hit my breaking point. Saying thank you to the three different doctors who noticed my struggle and wanted to help is just not good enough. I owe these doctors so much more gratitude than I was capable of giving them at the time. I didn’t realize the severity of it, but I do now. I DO NOW. Postpartum depression, anxiety, the baby blues- it’s real. It’s debilitating and it’s isolating. But it doesn’t have to be. My goal is to open up the dialogue. To do my part to help eliminate the stigma of mental health “problems” and postpartum depression. Let’s start by supporting each other. Giving a shoulder to cry on and a non- judgmental ear to listen is the least we can do for our fellow mamas.

If you see a mama struggling, ask if she needs a hand.

If you see a mama crying, ask if she’d like to talk.

If you see a mama being mom shamed, support her with kind words.

If you see a mama laughing with her kids, allow it to warm your heart.

If you see a mama, any mama, know that she “gets” it. She knows what you’re going thru. She is a reminder that you are not alone…

We are not alone, lovelies.

Xoxo

The post Maternal health awareness appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

We had a white couch. Our white couch was beautiful. We have a toddler. Our toddler is messy. White couch and toddler = no longer a white couch…

I was searching for a couch my family and I would love because we needed to replace our beautiful, but not so clean white one. I walked into an Interior Define store in Los Angeles and fell in love with this gorgeous caramel colored leather chair. Alex, the manager at the Hollywood store, explained that I could design any of their couches (or other furniture) with any fabric of my choosing. I was so lucky to have my interior designer, @csodapop in town to help me make choices, but it was pretty much a no-brainer. The caramel chair had inspired us and we chose to design a leather couch.

Our new, beautiful and durable couch gets stepped on, beaten up by little feet, lounged on all day by Sophie and it only looks better with age. Every scratch and detail is a beautiful reminder of us living our lives and “living” in our home. I’m grateful that I don’t have to worry about stains and dirt anymore, they pretty much just disappear. But honestly, life is too short to worry about that petty stuff, anyway. Just remind me I said that next time someone spills!!

The post Couch cuddles🛋👼🏼 appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

I get daily emails from a site called, What to Expect. They sent one about kids waking in the middle of the night probably 8 times. I kept deleting this one because we had no signs of Lennox waking up in the middle of the night. Until he did. And he hasn’t stopped. For almost three weeks. I may FINALLY have a handle on this. Fingers crossed. Anyway, I liked what they have to say and pasted an expert below. It makes sense.

“Toddlers need 11 to 14 hours of sleep every day, but that doesn’t mean they’ll hit the sack at 7:00 p.m. and not stir again until morning. Even if your toddler has been sleeping through the night in her own crib or bed for months, she may enter a stage where she starts waking up once, twice (do I hear three times?) and cries until you lull her back to sleep. Night waking is very normal for toddlers — and very common (just look at all the bleary-eyed parents of toddlers at the playground). Like any other unwanted behavior, though, this sleep habit will run its course given time and your patience (a lot of it!).”

So it’s not the best of news, but it does help me to understand what Lennox is going thru right now. He started out by wanting to sleep in mommy and daddy’s bed. Once he understood that our bed is for us and his bed is for him, he started to give up on that negotiation. Well, now he’s been asking for a bigger bed. “I want a bed that looks like mommy and daddy’s.” Well little does he know it’s going to be years before he gets a king size bed, but I do understand what he’s asking me.

At 430am last night I was at my wits end. Lennox was inconsolable. I was emotional, and I was upset that I was emotional and he was upset because he knew I was frustrated. It was a mess. Bleary-eyed, I was in search of a wrench. Hubby was oot so I had to figure out how to turn his crib into his toddler bed solo. I did it. It was easy actually. I’ve been dreading this transition, but somehow the blow wasn’t present because there was so much other drama surrounding this situation. I guess it’s for the best. Sometimes my heart just feels way too much. Being ok with this transition to a big boy bed, realizing that my baby is a big boy now is a hard pill to swallow, but it’s ok. I’m ok…

Well, dare I say it? Lennox is sleeping. I must go to sleep now! Thank you for reading this. I know so many of you feel my pain, or WILL feel my pain when your kiddo goes thru something similar- sorry, but I must be honest.

Ok, time to close my eyes.

Xoxo

The post night waking 😭 appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

The past few weeks have been really challenging, but last night took it to a whole new level for me. When I look at this photo I of course see my sweet Stanley happily resting on my lap, but I also see someone who is really never “off-duty.” As parents are we ever really off-duty? Even when we are sleeping, unless maybe we are on a vacation without our children, are we ever off-duty? No, I don’t think we are. One ear is always listening for my son who may be crying out and needing me. I definitely don’t sleep as soundly as I did before being a mommy. When I saw this photo tonight I was blown away by the irony. Like, who is this girl relaxing with a glass of wine, wearing a shirt that says, “off duty” with sweet Stanley on her lap? Just a few years ago feels light years away. I definitely don’t feel like I’m ever “off-duty,” and Stanley will never sleep on my lap again. Gosh that hurts… I’m a bit all over the place here, I’m sorry! I hope you can follow what I’m trying to say…

Back to Lennox waking up at night! He was sick a couple months ago and I brought him into our bed for a week to monitor his fever and be close to him. Extra precaution. Did I love snuggling with my baby all night? Of course I did. But even though we have a California king size bed, no one really slept. I’m a very light sleeper and the slightest movement wakes me up. If I am exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open, I’m not going to be able to take care of my family the way I want to. My husband and Lennox didn’t sleep very well either. Lennox had some dark circles around his eyes which let me know that he was in lack of sleep as well. All that being said, it created a pattern that we have been trying to break ever since.

Night after night, Lennox screaming to come into our bed every couple hours has been absolutely exhausting. I gave in so many times but it just made things worse. At first I thought it was night terrors which I now understand to be something completely different. But after speaking to our pediatrician and his teachers I am aware that that is not what it is. He’s completely coherent and articulate about what he wants. For the longest time it was that he wanted to be in mommy and daddy’s bed. Now he is saying he wants a bigger bed. I’m so grateful that he’s able to tell me what he wants. I’m starting to look for a new bed for Lennox, but in the meantime, I pray that his crib will bring him some comfort until we get his big boy bed. Hopefully he has sweet dreams of Stanley, too.

I want to make sure and be clear to all of you reading this, that I am in no way bashing co-sleeping. I’m simply saying that it’s not something we have done regularly, and it’s clear to me now that it does not work for us. I respect every family and all the ways we choose to run our own households… Have your kids gone through similar situations? How have you dealt with these transitions? I’d really love some advice!

Xoxo

Amy

The post Screaming at night. 😔 appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

I’ve shared with you my challenges of staying positive and not sliding into the easier negative path, and let me just say this one is a biggie for me! To not get all fearful and sad and miss the days when Lennox was itty bitty is not the natural route for me. I’d usually sit in a puddle of tears and ball my eyes out- and lets be honest, I probably will! But this time I am at least aware of the emotions I’m feeling and I’m doing all that I can so they don’t get the best of me. It is such a joy and a privilege to watch my son grow year-by-year, and I do not take it lightly or for granted. I’m so honored to be a parent, to be Lennox’s mommy, so I’ll take all the worrying, the heartache AND all the extraordinary moments with an enormous and grateful heart!

Thank you, God for the honor of being a mommy to Lennox. Thank you for choosing ME!

WARNING

3 million photos below!

The post 3 years old 💙💘🙈😭👼🏼 appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

For those of you who love John Ritter and may have questions about his passing, please read below and click on the links for additional information…

John died of an aortic dissection which is a tearing of the aorta but was tragically misdiagnosed for having a heart attack- two completely different situations. His wife, Amy Yasbeck created the John Ritter Foundation to help educate people and teach them how to prevent this from happening to their loved ones. Amy is an angel. A true angel…

My dear friend and tv brother, Martin Spanjers is running in the NYC Marathon and raising money for the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health. 100% of the proceeds go to fund life saving research done by the foundation- I love you, brother. So proud! If you feel so inclined to support Martin and The John Ritter Foundation please click HERE to donate!

For more info on Aortic health- http://johnritterfoundation.org/

Martin’s campaign- https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/the-john-ritter-foundation-for-aortic-health-nyc-2018/spanjers

The crowd rise campaign- https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/the-john-ritter-foundation-for-aortic-health-nyc-2018

The post John Ritter foundation🙏🏻❤️ appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.

I haven’t written a blog post in a month. I just haven’t felt inspired. Every time I think about what I want to write I come up with nothing. I realized this morning that is what I’m supposed to write about- Feeling uninspired and being OK with it, then moving on and moving forward…

I had a lovely conversation with a friend yesterday who is also a life coach, and she really helped to snap me out of my funk. Remembering gratitude can be so simple yet sometimes it’s near the bottom of my list. It’s almost as if I forget it’s importance and get sucked into an old and negative way of thinking. I’m so ready to quit my negative pattern and really focus on all the wonderful things in my life. Now I’m not saying “poor me,” I’m saying I’ve adopted a negative pattern of thinking and I’m sick of it. I’m ready to change. Sometimes it seems easier said than done, but I’ve gotten to the point where something has to give. I have a loving husband, the sweetest baby boy, supportive and loving family and friends and I know work is on the way. This is what I am choosing to focus on. Not the fact that I haven’t had an audition in a while, or my husband works too much and I’d love him home more or I’d love to buy this or I’d love to buy that etc… I’m committed to my family and strengthening my mind so our family unit is even stronger. I would love to hear how you get yourself out of a funk and what inspires you when you are feeling stuck. I always love hearing other points of view!

OK, I’m off to go meditate. Something else that I am committing to! Oh, and I decided to not drink wine for a month. Wish me luck! LOL! Actually, it’s been pretty easy.

Have a wonderful day.

XOXO

The post Uninspired… appeared first on Amy Davidson - Working Mom Blog.